September Favourites

The Body Shop Vitamin E Face Mist

This has been my go to face setting spray for the last month or so. This is a hydrating mist for the face. I don't know if it makes my makeup last any longer due to the fact that I have used setting sprays every time I've done my makeup for the last 2-3 years, but it is a nice hydrating mist and my skin loves it. I haven't tried much from The Body Shop to be honest, but I am quite excited to do so in the future. 

bareMinerals Prime Time Foundation Primer
A couple of months ago, I purchased the bareMinerals set of powder foundation in the lightest shade. This included a small sample of the bareMinerals Prime Time Primer. This primer is silicone based, and glides nicely over my skin. Silicone based primers are my favourite type of primers. It does not emphasise any dryness on my face and any makeup I apply on time blends nicely.

Chanel Coco Madmesoille EDP
This perfume was a gift for my birthday, and is an absolutely gorgeous scent. I've never really been into Chanel, but this scent is beautiful. It is a very feminine scent.

Hourglass Mood Exposure Blush
I purchased the limited edition Hourglass Ambient Lighting Blush palette last year, and I have used this blush a lot (it is the last shade in the palette). It's such a nice, natural shade. I definitely prefer it more in the winter months (love my corals in the spring and summer), but this blush does have a significant dent in it and  I can see myself reaching pan quite soon.

theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer 
The last month or so, I have really been into highlighting. This highlighting powder is one of the more extreme highlighters that I own, but it is absolutely gorgeous. Mine shattered after I first purchased it so it has been put back together with a bit of rubbing alcohol, but I definitely recommend this highlighting powder. One of my favourites.

Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation in Light 
My boyfriend actually purchased this for me. This is the only powder foundation I have used that doesn't emphasise my dry skin. It goes on smooth and lasts great. I think I have found my holy grail powder. This works great on top of a foundation/BB/CC cream or by itself. I will go more in depth in my review of this powder which should be up in the coming weeks.

(L to R: Hourglass Mood Exposure Blush, theBalm Mary-Lou Manizer, Too Faced Cocoa Powder Foundation in Light)

And those are my favourites for this month!

X

SauceBox Batalash Palette - review and swatches

If you have been a reader of my blog for some time, you could probably guess that eye shadow palettes are my absolute favourite type of makeup item. Whenever new items/collections are released, I go straight to the eye palettes. I'm sure I own more than I will ever use, but that won't stop me from purchasing more. Enter the Batalash Palette. This was released earlier this year, and at first I convinced myself I didn't need it. SauceBox shadows are definitely up there in terms of quality and pigmentation. Then it was sold out with the Australian online retailer Lipstick Republic, and I saw myself heading over to the American site. With the current exchange rate and shipping, the cost would have been over $100. I couldn't justify spending $100. Then about two months ago, the SauceBox website was having a sale on this palette, which was the perfect opportunity for me. With the discount, the price was the same as if I had purchased it from the Australian retailer. You can obviously see my train of thought here. Only once the palette was sold out, did I realise I "needed" this in my collection. After much rambling, on to my review of the SauceBox Batalash Palette!

This palette contains eight eyeshadows - four mattes and four shimmer/metallics

Vanilla is a matte white. This shadow is probably the least pigmented and the only disappointing shadow I find in the palette. This one is not opaque which is disappointing. However, I do like mixing it with the next shadow, Winter Brown, to blend out eyeshadows in the crease and I find it works great like this. Winter Brown is a cool-toned light-medium brown. The name is very fitting for this shade and this works great as a transition shade.  This shadow has great pigmentation. Cinnamon is a matte warm orange brown.  Another great transition shade for those who love warm shades in the crease. Lace Noir is a matte black. This isn't the most pigmented matte black in my collection, but the inclusion of a matte black is essential, in my opinion, to a great all-round palette. 

Pigmentation and blendability with the matte shadows is better with Winter Brown and Cinnamon, but the inclusion of Vanilla, a white, and Lace Noir, a black, is a great inclusion in this palette and I definitely appreciate it. 

Enigma is a burnt orange shimmer. This shadow is definitely the main shadow that appealed to me in this palette - I don't have anything like it in my collection. Electro is a chartreuse, almost mustard toned, yellow shimmer. Like Enigma, this shadow isn't something I really have in my collection and a great addition in this palette. Popper is an aqua blue/teal shimmer. This shadow is not as metallic/shimmery as the others in this palette, but still a beautiful shade. Nova is a burgundy/purple with shimmer. I have shades like this in my collection, but not this pigmented. It looks more purple in the pan but once swatched and applied on the lids, the red undertone definitely comes out. This shadow is also a great shadow to apply to the bottom lash line. 

The pigmentation in all four of these shadows is consistent, with Popper being the only shadow that is not as metallic as the other three. The pigmentation is great, however, so this doesn't bother me.  

SauceBox shadow pans are huge and contain 4g of product each - highly unlikely I will ever actually finish a pan. The consistency of the shadows is similar to the other two palettes I own - Temptation and Creme De La Creme. The palette has a cardboard packaging and a nice sized mirror is included, which is always a plus. The pans can also be removed and are magnetic, making it a great palette for travel. Should you only want to take 3 out of the 8 shadows with you, you can easily do this with a Z-Palette. 

Even if you have never heard of Batalash, I would still suggest considering picking up this palette if the shadows appeal to you. The combination of neutral mattes and colourful shimmers means you can create a variety of look, and some of the shadows are unique, meaning even if you are an avid eyeshadow lover and hoarder, you won't have some of these shadows in your collection. 

This palette is no longer available on the SauceBox website, but can still be purchased through Lipstick Republic. From Lipstick Republic, this palette can be purchased for $79AUD. 

Thanks for reading,

X

Stila Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette in Soul - review and swatches

Before Mecca Maxima came to be, Stila was a brand that was hard to get in Australia. Besides the Lip and Cheek palette I have reviewed previously, this eyeshadow palette is the only other item I have purchased to date. Stila has four of the Eyes Are The Window Shadow Palette - I opted for one of the more neutral. I went ahead with Soul as it featured one of the most iconic shades from Stila - Kitten, and the shadows appealed the most to me. The palette features 12 shadows made up of a combination of matte and frost finishes. 

(L to R: Light, Individual, Being, Kitten)

Light is a matte, light yellow beige. It has okay pigmentation. It is a matte, but it isn't chalky which is great. It is blendable and I usually use is to set my cream base before adding any other shadows on the lid. I'm glad a shadow like this has been included in this palette.

Individual is a warm orange brown. This is a great crease shade and really warms up any eye look. I reach for this shadow a lot. 

Being is a matte dark brown. This works well at deepening up the crease. 

Kitten is a signature Stila shadow. It is a super pigmented champagne. It has a frosty, almost metallic like finish and looks absolutely gorgeous in the inner corner and allover the lid. 

(L to R: Affection, Character, Thought, Heart)

Affection is a medium brown with an orange undertone to it. It doesn't swatch overly pigmented (like Kitten does), but applied on a primer and with a bit of Fix+ and the pigmentation is a lot better. This has a frost finish as well. 

Character is a dark brown matte with coppery sparkly. This shadow does not swatch all too well and is hardly pigmented, and it is the most disappointing shadow out of the palette. 

Thought is a bronze and has a frost finish. The pigmentation of this one is similar to Affection. 

Heart is a cool-toned matte brown. This shadow works well in the crease when shadows of a cool undertone are used. A great staple shadow to have in any collection.

(L to R: Peace, Vitality, Substance, Essence)

Peace looks very similar to Thought when swatched. This shadow doesn't swatch as well as some of the other frost finishes, but if applied with a bit of Fix+ the shadow works well. Compared to Thought, this shadow is more warm-toned, as it is more coppery in tone. 

Vitality has the same texture and pigmentation as Kitten. This is a nice gold and a great allover lid colour. One of my favourites from this palette. 

Substance is a pigmented silver taupe. To be honest, I haven't used this shadow all too much (and I've had this palette for about six months), but the pigmentation is great as you can see from the above swatch. This shadow would be a great staple in the cooler months, but whenever Autumn and Winter come a long I love to whip out my Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette. 

Essence is a matte black. I think a light matte (like Light) and a black matte, like this shadow, are essential in any palette and to creating an eye look. The pigmentation on this matte shadow is great, and it isn't chalky at all. 

These palettes retail for $72 from Mecca. This type of palette is something I would take travelling - it has a bit of everything to make a complete eye look. There are warm toned and cool toned shadows that can create a variety of looks. Kitten is a stand out shade to me and since purchasing this palette I have made a significant dent in Kitten. I am intrigued in purchasing Mind, which is an all matte palette, and Body, which features beautiful jewel-toned shadows. Even Spirit appeals to me, it is another more neutral palette and contains the 12 most iconic Stila eyeshadows (yes, Kitten is also included in this palette).

For anyone interested, I would recommend comparing the 4 palettes and deciding on the one that best suits your needs. For the price, you are getting 12 shadows which makes each shadow under $7 each, which is a steal. I hope to try out more Stila products.

Thanks for reading,
X

OCC Technopagan Lip Tar - review and swatches

OCC Technopagan is described as a "blackened purple with blue pearl" and has a metallic finish. I purchased this from Lipstick Republic a couple of months ago, but since then OCC has released the Ready To Wear line and this shade is only available in the tube with a doe foot applicator, not in the tube as I have, with the lip brush. 

Look how beautiful that swatch is! This metallic OCC is different to the one I have previously mentioned, Manhunter (see review here). It is different in that it doesn't necessarily have chunks of glitter, which I found in Manhunter. This colour is absolutely gorgeous and one of my favourite purple shades that I own. It is a beautiful purple blue duo chrome. 

As this type of packaging for the Metallic shades is being discontinued, Lipstick Republic is having a sale on the Metallic shades they have left - view more here. I couldn't find these on the OCC website, unfortunately.

What are your favourite shades of Lip Tars?

Thanks for reading,

X

Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit Light to Medium - review and swatches

The Anastasia Beverly Hills Contour Kit is a product that has been severely hyped up on YouTube. I purchased this towards the beginning of the year and this product has been a staple in a lot of my makeup looks. This palette contains 6 face powders and there are 3 grams of product in every pan. I purchased this before there were cream contour kits and another powder contour kit, and now the powder contour kits are available in two variations - Light to Medium and Medium to Tan.

This palette contains 3 highlighting shades and 3 contour shades.

Vanilla is a light pink-toned matte. I use this under my eyes to set and brighten my under eye area. 

Banana is a light yellow-toned matte. I also use this one under my eyes to set. I tend to switch it up between Vanilla and Banana, as both work great for the under eye area. 

Sand is the only shimmery shade in this palette. It is pink toned in the pan, but when applied and blended out on the cheek bones, it blends to a nice sheen on the skin. This is a very subtle highlight. 

Java is a warm-toned contour shade. Unfortunately I don't get much use of this as I am quite fair, but I have used this as a transition shade on the eyes and it works great. Once it is the warmer months and I'm going for the bronzed skin, I will try to use this as a bronzer.

Fawn is the cool-toned contour out of the three contour shades. This one gets a lot of use as it is the only contour shade that works on my fair complexion. As this is the cooler of the three, it works great at chiseling out the cheekbones. This is one of my favourite contour powders that I own. 

Havana is another warm-toned contour shade. For someone with darker skin then me (I would say medium skin-tone), this would work great. Like Java, this one works well as a transition shadow on the eyes. 

(L to R: Vanilla, Banana, Sand, Java, Fawn, Havana)

The palette is magnetic and the pans can be removed, which makes it great should you want to mix it up with different contour and highlight shades that are available from Anastasia. There are 29 in total, and each retail for $14US.

This was the first contour palette I have purchased. Since then, I have added the Australis Contour Palette and the Too Faced Contour Palette (see review here) to my collection. Out of the three, the Too Faced is my preferred, as I can use 3 out of the 4 shades with no problem. The Anastasia is my more preferred when doing other people's makeup, as the three contour shades can work for a variety of people. For myself, however, I would opt for the Too Faced as only one of the contour shades is useable.

This palette retails for $40US and the Anastasia Beverly Hills website ships to Australia. Anastasia Beverly Hills is also stocked at Sephora Australia. 

Thanks for reading, 

X

Too Faced 5 Star Favorites Set - review

I picked up this little set from Mecca Maxima a month or so ago. The price for this set was $28, which is quite reasonable in that you are receiving 3 products for that price (although they aren't full sized, they are deluxe sized). To be honest, the only thing in this set you would go through quickly is the mascara (and maybe the eyeliner, depending on how much eyeliner you use a day). The primer will last you quite some time.

Please note, I have for the last 2 and a bit weeks had an eye irritation which has made testing these products a bit hard (and hence the lack of posts). At first, I thought it may have been the eye liner or mascara in this set but when the irritation did not go away after a day, I realised it wasn't the eyeliner or mascara. We are back in the eye makeup game now!

Too Faced Perfect Eyes Waterproof Eyeliner is a super pigmented, black liner. This does not move from the water line. I do tend to use gel eyeliner in the upper lash line and water line as that does not go anywhere, but when I wear contacts the gel sticks to the contact and is a pain to remove without taking the contacts out. This pencil does not have this issue. As this is in a pencil form, it is easier for travel compared to gel as well. Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara has become an instant favourite with me. The wand has an hourglass shape and it makes my lashes dark, bold, long and voluminous. I don't know why I haven't picked this up sooner, but I'm so glad I have now. When this runs out, I will definitely be repurchasing. Too Faced Shadow Insurance is an eyelid primer. Urban Decay Primer Potion has been my go-to for years, but I have always been interested in trying this out. To be honest, whenever I do eye makeup, I will apply an eyelid primer and then put a base on - 90% of the time this base is the MAC Painterly Paint Pot. I never just rely on an eyelid primer. This one reminds me a lot of the Urban Decay Primer Potion Original, and I will continue to use this. 

Unfortunately I can't see this on the Mecca website anymore, but it may still be available in store. All these products can be purchased as a full sized product from Mecca Maxima, and Mecca online. For the price, this is a great little set and I'm happy I got to try out these three great products.

Thanks for reading,
X

SauceBox Temptation Palette - review and swatches

For today's review, we have this very summer appropriate palette from SauceBox. SauceBox describes this palette as a "crazy colour packed palette... essential to any tropical-summery look!"

The palette contains three shimmers and one matte shadow. 

Orange Sun is a vibrant orange with gold shimmer. Aquarama is a vibrant mid-tone blue and has a matte finish. Mermaid is a bright turqoise with a sheen. Yell-Oh! is a bright mid-tone yellow with a sheen. This shade also has a shimmer in it. 

(L to R: Orange Sun, Aquarama, Mermaid, Yell-Oh!)

Look at that pigmentation! The swatches are without a primer or base. The shades scream summer. The palette also has a mirror which is great for travel. 

This is the second SauceBox palette I have added to my collection. To see my review of the SauceBox Creme De La Creme palette, click here. I love SauceBox palettes as they come with removable pans, that make it so easy to customise your own palette, or chuck it into a Z palette.

This palette can be purchased through SauceBox directly, for $15US (they ship to Australia), or through Lipstick Republic, which is where my friend purchase this palette for me. From Lipstick Republic, the palette currently retails for $25 AUD. I purchased the Batalash palette through the SauceBox website directly, and shipping took about a week and a half, which is pretty standard for shipping from America to Australia. The SauceBox website does say this palette is "TO BE DISCONTINUED", so if you were interested, I would recommend picking this up before it is gone. This is a great addition to any eyeshadow lovers collection, the eyeshadows are smooth and buttery but not chalky. The combination of colours would compliment many neutral eyeshadow palettes.

Thanks for reading,
X